Patient Choice Schemes
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of patients being offered a choice of providers upon referral.
Answered by Dr Zubir Ahmed
Patients have a legal right to choose where they go for their first appointment when referred to consultant-led care as an outpatient. The NHS Constitution for England and the NHS Standing Rules Regulations set out patients' legal rights to make choices about their healthcare. To support integrated care boards to understand and meet their obligations, NHS England published the Patient Choice Guidance in December 2023, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/patient-choice-guidance/
The Government is committed to giving patients greater control and choice over their care, across constituencies. The Elective Reform Plan, published January 2025, sets out plans to improve patient choice, empowering people to take control of their health by making the NHS App and ‘Manage Your Referral’ website the default route for patients to choose their provider. To enable patients to make an informed choice, we are improving the information available to them, such as waiting times. The 10-Year Health Plan committed to a new ‘Choice Charter’, that will be rolled out progressively in areas of highest health need. The Choice Charter states five ‘mechanisms’ that sit within it, one of which is the commitment to the right to choose in electives.
No assessment has been made of the impact in Harrow East constituency.
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